Higher Than A Kite

August 21, 1985

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA — Ramiro Ortega paid 250,000 pesos for his house 10 years ago. Today that buys a beer. If inflation in Bolivia is not curbed, 250,000 pesos soon will not be enough to buy a pack of chewing gum. The National Statistics Institute reported last week that inflation in July was at an annual rate of 14,173 percent. Some economists say it will be 25,000 percent by the end of the year. Some of the effects: Credit cards are no longer accepted, restaurant menus have no prices. Paying a bill equivalent to $100 requires a stack of red 100,000-peso notes more than a foot high. Men don't carry wallets. Instead: They use paper bags, briefcases and vegetable containers.